Difference Between SSH and SCP

SSH and SCP are two network protocols that can be used to exchange data through a secure channel between two remote devices in a network. SSH stands for Secure Shell, while SCP stands for Secure Copy Protocol. SSH is a protocol for establishing a secure connection between two remote computers, and this secure connection offers encryption, authentication and compression mechanisms. SCP is a protocol for transferring files between the computers in a network, or over the internet using SSH connection. SCP preserves the authenticity and the confidentiality of the data exchanging.

SSH

Secure Shell (SSH) network protocol provides users with secure and encrypted communications between remote hosts through insecure networks such as internet. It offers strong authentication and a secure encrypted channel in order to exchange data with confidentiality and integrity, and to execute remote commands securely. SSH protocol is mainly used on Linux and Unix based systems. It was illustrated by IETF Secure Shell Working Group (secsh) and it was designed as a solution for insecure remote shells such as Telnet.

SSH uses public key cryptography for authenticating the remote hosts, and it is widely used to log into remote systems and to execute remote commands. By using the SSH protocol, the malicious attacks such as eavesdropping, hijacking messages for modifying the transferring data, man-in-the-middle attacks and redirecting connections to fake servers can be prevented as it uses encrypted connection for data transit.

SCP

Secure Copy (SCP) protocol securely and easily copies files among the remote computers within a network, and it uses SSH secure connection for transferring the files. It also offers the same security as encrypted SSH. SCP was designed as a replacement for existent cp file transfer method. It is mostly available on Unix and Linux systems, but there are various GUIs, which is available for all operating systems.

SCP is a combination of RCP and SSH protocols. RCP accomplishes the file transferring between two computers and SSH protocol provides the authentication and encryption using public key cryptography for SCP.

What is the difference between SSH and SCP?

– Both SSH and SCP are used to exchange data between the computers within a network securely, based on public key encryption.

– SSH protocol is for creating a secure encrypted channel between a pair of remote devices, while SCP protocol is for transferring files between a pair of hosts securely. As SCP uses SSH connection for its operation, both SSH and SCP protocols are alike but there are some key differences.

– SSH protocol is widely used for logging into remote systems and for controlling remote systems, while SCP protocol is used to transfer files among remote computers in a network.

– When the user does not know the exact location of a file that is needed to copy using SCP, he/she can first establish the connection to the remote server using SSH, find the path using ‘cd’ and ‘pwd’ commands and then use the full path to copy file using SCP. This is because SCP protocol cannot be used to run a command on a remote server but the SSH protocol can be used to execute the remote commands.